Prostaglandins are active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and isomerically and chemically pure prostaglandins are required for formulation into drug products. However, the purification of prostaglandins is challenging due to the similar chemical properties of many prostaglandin isomers, as well as their related impurities.
G. H. Brunner et al. (Supercritical Fluids, 653-668, E. Kiran and J. M. H. Levelt Sengers (eds.), Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1994) describes the preparative supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) separation of Reprodin isomers (i.e. luprostiol isomers). However, the isomers are poorly separated and the purity of the heart cut fraction is only 80%. This method therefore cannot be used to obtain a commercial product as the purity does not meet ICH quality. The authors acknowledge that SFC is disadvantageous in comparison to liquid chromatography.